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<br />The man in search of success and peace of mind needs friends. <br />Xenophon, the historian, remarked: "It is far less difficult to march <br />up a steep ascent without fighting than aloqg a level road with enemies <br />on each side. " <br /> <br /> <br />(4) Friendliness with a person meij.ns that you have, over and <br />above your general merit, some particula~ merit to that person. It <br />means that even if you are not in position to benefit people materially <br />you take pains to oblige them and show your amiable spirit. <br /> <br />Leadership has been written about for thousands of years, and <br />scores of books are published every year giving advice about how to <br />become an executive. Yet all these years and words have found no substi- <br />tute for these four virtues: Consistency, Sincerity, Courtesy, and <br />Friendliness. <br /> <br />Some Principles: <br /> <br />In addition to the basic virtues, getting along with people requires <br />us to practice certain principles, to use proven tactics. <br /> <br />You would not appoint a man to a managerial position if he were <br />more interested in the question "Who is right?" than in the question <br />"What is right?" The manager, supervisor, foreman, or other person <br />in a position of command needs to be careful not to allow personalities <br />to sidetrack principles. Sometimes the manager is right; sometimes <br />the worker is rightl sometimes both are partly right; but both need to <br />seek the procedure which will be most in keeping with their desire for <br />the best outcome. <br /> <br />The person who gets along with people avoids focusing on their <br />weaknesses rather than on their strengths, or on their disabilities rather <br />than on their abilities... Everybody has problems and everybody is <br />short-suited in some quality. The thing to do is not to cry about these, <br />but to do something positive to help overcome them. <br /> <br /> <br />Practice of this sort means going beyond the stark, necessary <br />demands of business and social life. It calls for willingness to go more <br />than half way in friendly overtures. It is a practice that distinguishes <br />the really great man from the man who i~ merely adequate. <br /> <br />Great men are not quick to take o#ense. They know that <br />annoying acts and sayings are the result .of an inferiority complex. <br />They know that many criticisms are made because making them gives <br />the critic a feeling of importance. They: measure criticism by the value <br />there is in it for them as a guide to doing something better, and not by <br />the degree in which the criticism hurts. <br /> <br />- 18 - <br />